Applying Socio‐Cultural Lenses to Childhood Obesity Prevention among African Migrants to High‐Income Western Countries: The Role of Acculturation, Parenting and Family Functioning

Renzaho, Andre Μ Ν; Mellor, David

doi:10.5042/ijmhsc.2010.0448

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…As a result some participants aspired to attain the preferred ideal (not too skinny, but not too fat) by eating more to put on weight. Similar pejorative terms for thin women have previously been noted in other studies in sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya and Somalia (Renzaho and Mellor 2010).…”

Section: (2009)supporting

confidence: 87%

“…A classical example is Western society's standards of beauty which heavily emphasize the value of being thin as ideal for women, compared with the cultural valuation of plumpness as a sign of prosperity, beauty, fertility, health and prestige in some nonWestern populations (Renzaho and Mellor 2010;Swami et al 2010). In view of the high value placed on the social processes in which people form, reproduce, and reaffirm social realities and truths (Grogan 2007), social constructionism provides a backdrop for subjectively exploring the perceptions of Ghanaian women about ideal body size.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…That notwithstanding, high social and cultural valuation of large body size or fatness in some developing countries has significantly contributed to the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity (Renzaho and Mellor 2010;Swami et al 2010). 4 Therefore, the recent increases in overweight and obesity in many developing countries could be the consequence of society-wide preference for larger body sizes fuelled by changes in dietary and physical activity patterns (Swami et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceived ideal body size of Ghanaian women: “Not too skinny, but not too fat”

et al. 2017

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Body size issues are gaining public health attention because of the fast rising epidemic of overweight and obesity across the globe. This study explored Ghanaian women's subjective perceptions regarding ideal body size for women.A purposive sampling strategy was employed in recruiting 36 women across the body weight spectrum from Tamale (n=17) and Accra (n=19) in Ghana. Qualitative data were obtained from in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Data from the interviews were analysed deductively.The mean body mass index of participants was 33.5±10 kg/m 2 : 16 of the participants were obese, 8 overweight, 11 normal weight, and one underweight. The participants almost unanimously had a preference for an ideal body size slightly above the normal, but not necessarily obese. Typically described as "not too skinny, but not too fat", this preferred ideal reflected a fuller, curvier and shapelier, as opposed to the western ideal of thinner body type. Women often felt pressured by peers and family members to have a slightly heavier body size.Health education efforts are needed to focus on messages that seek to challenge existing body size perceptions that may inhibit women's willingness to maintain a healthy body weight.

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Section: (2009)supporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceived ideal body size of Ghanaian women: “Not too skinny, but not too fat”

et al. 2017

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“…In many African cultures, both the selection and social causation hypotheses tend to be at play. A large sized woman is perceived as beautiful, healthy and more prestigious, thereby, increasing her chances of being selected into the state of marriage [40–42]. Nonetheless, there is some evidence of a gradual decline in the contribution of the historic Ghanaian socio-cultural valorisation of large-bodied women to the prevalence of overweight/obesity on one hand [4, 37], and an increasing contribution of lifestyles associated with urbanisation and westernisation [3, 5].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socio-demographic trends in overweight and obesity among parous and nulliparous women in Ghana

2016

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BackgroundOverweight and obesity are among the leading threats to global health because of their association with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Much of the research on overweight and obesity among women largely generalize without due cognisance to differences in their reproductive history. This study explored differences in trends in overweight/obesity, and associated factors between parous and nulliparous women in Ghana.MethodsAnthropometric measurements from three nationally representative Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (2003, 2008 and 2014) were analysed using descriptive statistics and multivariate binary logistic regression.ResultsOver all, overweight/obesity increased between 2003 and 2014, with disproportionately higher rates among parous women (from about 30 % in 2003 to about 48 % in 2014) than nulliparous women (from about 15 % in 2003 to about 24 % in 2014). Age, wealth quintile and marital status were associated with overweight/obesity similarly in both women groups. However, there were variations in the association between parous and nulliparious women by educational level, type of locality, occupation and ethnicity.ConclusionThe trend of overweight/obesity in Ghana warrants urgent national level public health attention to help curb the situation. Such interventions should be tailored bearing in mind the peculiar differences in associated factors between parous and nulliparous women.

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“…There are a number of factors associated with obesity among migrant children in industrialised countries. These include gender high parental body mass index (BMI), low socioeconomic status, the length of time spent in the host country, and acculturation . Acculturation is the process that occurs when people from one culture adopt aspects of the second culture they have migrated into .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration‐related influences on obesity among sub‐Saharan African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia

Griffith

Mellor

Green

et al. 2014

Nutrition & Dietetics

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Aim:The aim of the present study was to examine migration-and socioeconomic-related influences on obesity among African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia. Methods: Anthropometric data were collected from 99 parents and 100 adolescent offspring who also completed questionnaires eliciting demographic, socioeconomic and migration data. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess the relationship between migration-and socioeconomic-related factors and adolescent body mass index (BMI). Results: Only gender and parental BMI were associated with adolescent BMI after adjusting for adolescent age, adolescent gender, religion, parental BMI, parental education level and annual income. Boys (β = −1.45; P < 0.05) had lower BMI than girls. Parental and adolescent BMI were positively associated (β = 0.11; P < 0.05). In examining migration-related factors and adolescent BMI, after adjusting for gender and parental BMI, parental acculturation patterns and pre-migration life environment were associated with adolescent BMI, explaining, respectively, 6.5 and 4.0% of the variance in BMI. An integrated parental acculturation pattern was negatively associated with adolescent BMI (β = −0.17; P < 0.05) while adolescents whose parents came from rural areas had a higher BMI (β = 1.48; P < 0.05) than those whose parents came from urban areas. Adolescent acculturation patterns and length of stay in Australia were non-significantly associated with their BMI. Conclusions: Gender, pre-migration life environment and parental acculturation patterns seem to influence the prevalence of overweight and obesity among African migrant adolescents. Culturally competent obesity prevention programmes targeted towards African adolescents should consider these aspects in their design and delivery; however, further research is required to determine their relative contributions to African adolescent obesity in Australia.

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Applying Socio‐Cultural Lenses to Childhood Obesity Prevention among African Migrants to High‐Income Western Countries: The Role of Acculturation, Parenting and Family Functioning

Cited by 17 publications

References 26 publications

Perceived ideal body size of Ghanaian women: “Not too skinny, but not too fat”

Perceived ideal body size of Ghanaian women: “Not too skinny, but not too fat”

Socio-demographic trends in overweight and obesity among parous and nulliparous women in Ghana

Migration‐related influences on obesity among sub‐Saharan African migrant adolescents in Melbourne, Australia

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